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Published: 2013-11-22 22:06:11 +0000 UTC; Views: 6063; Favourites: 55; Downloads: 0
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ProjectComment is a Group of many projects centred around comments, but, more importantly, constructive comments. Every week, one admin from ProjectComment will write an informative article on commenting that will hopefully be useful to you! Please help support us by the article and contribute your thoughts and opinions on the matter.
This article aims to show you how to format your constructive comments, and why you should format them in the first place. 'Formatting' in this case means making your comment more readable with a few simple steps.
Many of us simply write down the good and bad things we notice about an artwork, along with ways to improve the bad ones, which can lead to a unstructurized outcome, which makes understanding the comment and following the advice given harder.
Why should I format my comments? Clarity and legibility. A wall of text is much harder to read and comprehend than a well-structured text. Just think of having to read a page full of justified text without line breaks or paragraphs. So, the person you wrote the comment for will have an easier time.
It's useful for you as well, since having a structure for what you want to write helps you actually writing it. You're not writing an essay of course, but the same things helping you to write a good essay can help you with writing a good constructive comment. Organising your ideas and thoughts is one of them.
A well-formatted comment has the added bonus of looking better than a wall of text, at least in my opinion.
How can I format my comments? If you use the 'sandwich method' to comment, you can easily insert a line break between your points. It's the same if you decide to follow the steps of 3wyl 's great article here . Working that way already provides you with a solid structure, so you can use line breaks to emphasise that structure. The same goes for your own commenting techniques of course.
If you're writing a more detailed constructive comment you might want to insert breaks inbetween your main points, or maybe group everything you like about the work, things you think could be improved and how to improve them into paragraphs.
Concerning quotes (literature pieces): Make sure you label them as such, e.g. through italicising the quote for example.
You can also use bold and italics if you want to emphasise a certain point.
An Example
Let's take a look at the following example.
This already is a good comment, stating things the commenter liked and things the commenter felt could be improved at the same time.
"This is a very interesting painting! I love the earthy shades of the girl contrasting with the colourful lights in the background, it creates a lovely atmosphere. I also think that the shading is very well done overall, although it's still a little unrefined in certain areas, like her hair for example, but I guess that's because this is not a finished piece of work. If you do intend to finish it I think it would be best to work on the hair some more, as well as refining her features a little more. Right now the whole picture looks a little blurry, since the shading lacks sharper lines and a clear focal point. Other than that it's a good piece already, and I'd love to see a finished version, as I'm sure that would be even better!"
Now, to make the comment more readable:
"This is a very interesting painting! I love the earthy shades of the girl contrasting with the colourful lights in the background, it creates a lovely atmosphere. [insert line break (1)] I also think that the shading is very well done overall, although it's still a little unrefined in certain areas, like her hair for example, but I guess that's because this is not a finished piece of work. [insert line break (2)] If you do intend to finish it I think it would be best to work on the hair some more, as well as refining her features a little more. Right now the whole picture looks a little blurry, since the shading lacks sharper lines and a clear focal point. [insert line break, change order of sentences (3)] Other than that it's a good piece already, and I'd love to see a finished version, as I'm sure that would be even better!"
(1) I inserted a line break here, because that is the end of the first positive statement.
(2) Another line break, because we're coming to the 'things to improve' section of the comment.
(3) Last line break, because we finished with our 'to improve' section, but still want to say something to encourage the artist. I also changed the order of the two sentences before the line break, as I felt it would work better that way around.
Leading us to this:
"This is a very interesting painting! I love the earthy shades of the girl contrasting with the colourful lights in the background, it creates a lovely atmosphere.
I also think that the shading is very well done overall, although it's still a little unrefined in certain areas, like her hair for example, but I guess that's because this is not a finished piece of work.
Because of that the whole picture looks a little blurry, since the shading lacks sharper lines and a clear focal point. So, if you do intend to finish it I think it would be best to work on that, especially concerning the hair and her features.
Other than that it's a good piece already, and I'd love to see a finished version, as I'm sure that would be even better!"
And that was that! Formatting your constructive comments (especially long ones) can make reading and writing them a lot easier.
Keep watch of ProjectComment to find out more ways to help your commenting!
Riemea , posting on behalf of ProjectComment
Related content
Comments: 31
tellsteve98 [2024-10-30 08:35:11 +0000 UTC]
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SelenaMiley [2020-04-10 01:30:19 +0000 UTC]
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AlishaTano [2016-11-20 07:26:56 +0000 UTC]
This is my first time trying to learn about proper constructive comment... I had no idea there was a system in place.Β Β Thanks for this, it's a really helpful read!
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Riemea In reply to AlishaTano [2016-11-20 16:58:40 +0000 UTC]
If you have questions on anything, feel free to ask! I wouldn't call it a system, it's more like... guidlines to help you I guess.^^
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AlishaTano In reply to Riemea [2016-11-21 14:43:49 +0000 UTC]
I guess I've got one or two questions... how do I let the group know whether I've make a proper constructive comment? And, are those comments limited to pieces uploaded in this group, or can I try this anywhere?
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Riemea In reply to AlishaTano [2017-03-31 21:43:30 +0000 UTC]
So sorry for the super late reply! I hope you found the answer to your question in the mean time.
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Philota [2016-01-08 00:46:33 +0000 UTC]
I wish more of the group members had read this post
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Riemea In reply to Philota [2016-07-11 13:44:17 +0000 UTC]
Well, this guide has over 2000 views, so I think a lot of members already saw this.
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MikesScribbles [2016-01-07 03:44:53 +0000 UTC]
If I'm going past a few lines, I have a format I developed based on what is important to me. IT varies some based on Photo vs Drawing or other media. I choose to start with First impressions; on a community like dA, there are thousands of pieces of art on any of our watch list at any monent[mine is close to 4K right now]
Β I believe any artist wants to know what the grab, or attraction was.Β
Second: I have not been in a position of having to critique garbage, if I chose to review it, I have something in mind I want to highlight, or encourage. if there is an element that is particularly poor; chances are the artist knows that. I will emphasize the good and let the deficit speak for it's self. This being a community where comment is solicited, I will have to renegotiate how I deal with this issue.
Β
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Riemea In reply to MikesScribbles [2016-02-07 21:37:27 +0000 UTC]
That's a good way to start a comment.
I think that depends on what kind of comment someone is writing. When someone is writing a constructive comment, pointing out flaws, especially particularly noticable ones (and how to improve them) is something they'd include, but they probably won't do that when they're just writing a comment to state their apprechiation of/amazement at the work.
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MikesScribbles In reply to Riemea [2016-02-09 03:41:47 +0000 UTC]
Well, said.
Β Like in a group where I know someone wants comments I can be a bit different, where as a general complemantry comment is a much more delicate animal.Β
Β There are also times when I think the artist already knows the flaws, even if he or she has not said it,and I feel compelled to encourage what I see that is good, as opposed to expounding on every mistake.
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Riemea In reply to MikesScribbles [2016-02-09 17:52:27 +0000 UTC]
Indeed. That's a nice thing to do.
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MuteNightingale [2015-12-19 08:06:49 +0000 UTC]
Oh, I've been using something along the lines of this structure all along ^^ When it gets longer than 8 or 9 lines I also leave an empty line. Helps a lot ^^
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Omnikron13 [2015-02-27 10:48:43 +0000 UTC]
'You can also use bold and cursive'
That is italics, not cursive... =/
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Riemea In reply to Omnikron13 [2015-03-01 23:14:36 +0000 UTC]
Indeed, "italics" would probably be the better word choice. At the time I wrote this article I was more used to the word "cursive" than "italics", which is why that's what's written here.
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Cheliya [2013-12-07 23:39:44 +0000 UTC]
Uuuh I critiqued on two deviations.. also a bit like this, but honestly I didn't see any flaws. Those pieces were just AMAZING! But I'm not sure if I'm allowed to submit my piece now since it's not really constructive critism (since there's nothing to improve on imo...)
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Riemea In reply to Cheliya [2013-12-11 22:33:09 +0000 UTC]
That's alright. Simply submit your piece to the group's gallery and link to the comments you wrote on your submission process.
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apples-ishness [2013-11-28 07:48:18 +0000 UTC]
Thanks for this article!
I've seen many "walls of text" comments. Breaking it up somehow also makes critique less daunting, at least to me.
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Riemea In reply to apples-ishness [2013-12-01 15:29:22 +0000 UTC]
Thank you for reading!
Indeed.
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neonparrot [2013-11-23 14:50:49 +0000 UTC]
This is the most informative article out of all three, in my opinion.
And the only one where I don't have anything to disagree with :"D
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